Productivity, True Confessions

The Simple Magic of a To-Do List

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I spent my time leisurely on Saturday doing fun activities. Sunday morning my thoughts felt scattered. I was having some (mild) panic about how much I had to get done. Cleaning, weekly preparations, laundry, grocery shopping, yard work (it was a beautiful day!), practicing, writing my blog… basically, a lot of stuff. To add to the mix, some things required multiple parts. For example, I had some vacuuming to do. However, I couldn’t knock that off the list until I first cleaned out the vacuum cleaner. It had gotten gummed up with baking soda after an unfortunate mishap on the rug. In addition to all the tasks, I was also desperate to go for a swim to reset.

Though it was tempting to avoid everything and enjoy the sunshine, I knew my future self would regret that decision. Instead, I spent a few moments over breakfast making a to-do list. Like magic, my breathing slowed down and the morning felt manageable again. Even better, I didn’t have to think about what I was doing. I simply had to consult the list and see what was next, or available, to do in that moment. As I blogged in June, there’s something about “Lists and Why We Love Them.”

The to-do list grew over the day, some things crossed off, others added, and a few tasks getting stars as something critical to finish as time was running short. Even though I failed to accomplish one of the more critical tasks, I completed most of the list. This also included a few small, annoying tasks such as tightening a loose pan handle. Another bonus was the satisfaction of seeing the list and the crossed off items. I even added a few things to the list just so I could cross them off. It’s funny why that feels so satisfying.

All in all, it was a good reminder of how something as simple as a list, scratched out on a scrap of paper, can result in so much clarity. I don’t make a list every weekend, but I’m thinking of resurrecting the practice after Sunday’s success! It also helped me to break down some of the more miserable tasks, aka cleaning out the gummed up vacuum cleaner, into smaller steps I could handle. Otherwise, I easily could have let that one go for another two months.

Digital Dilemma

When Technology is More Problems than Answers

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In many ways, I love the conveniences of technology. Keyless doors, wireless speakers, and the portability of smartphones, are some of my favorites. These things make my life easier. They’re also easy to use. This is the way I imagine technology should be. An invention that helps me and improves my life, maybe even in ways I hadn’t previously imagined.

The keyless door is a good example of this. Having a keyless door means I’ll never worry about forgetting, or losing, my keys. I can confirm it’s locked remotely through a smartphone app. This is perfect when I have that old nagging anxiety wondering if I locked the door when I left. It’s also handy when visitors come since I can open the door remotely, or provide them with a customized code for their visit. All in all, it solves a lot of problems. Previously I would have to leave a lockbox for guests, which sometimes led to a lot of drama when the visitor couldn’t open it. And if I had worry about leaving the door unlocked, I couldn’t do anything about it the whole day.

However, the keyless door is far from perfect. In one place I lived the door wouldn’t open because I hung a few shopping bags on the knob. I did this so I would remember to bring them to the car. All of a sudden, I was locked out. I kept trying the code, hearing the mechanism whir and attempt to open the lock. Yet, it couldn’t do it because of the weight of the shopping bags. I ended up breaking in through the bedroom window. After I did this a second time, I started hiding a key to the backdoor outside, old school style. Even though the front door was keyless, the backdoor had a regular lock. I had grown accustomed to being keyless and never had the backdoor key on me. whoops!

In those moments, I longed for the simplicity of a regular door lock. One that opened without needing batteries or unencumbered door handles. For these reasons, I’m sometimes wary of immediately jumping to technology to solve every problem, or perceived or real. Chances are, there’s probably already a way to solve it, even if it’s a little clunky and un-automated.

Digital Dilemma

The Gains of AI

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For over a year advances in Artificial Intelligence (AI) fill the headlines. In particular, the rise of generative AI represents a new level of capabilities with its impressive range of skills. As the name indicates, it can generate new content, instantly. This has left some people concerned for their jobs (e.g., writers and other artists). While others profit in a fraction of the time.

However, it is sometimes valuable to stop and reflect on what we are really gaining. As the world seems to process everything faster, time feels shorter than ever. With all this technology and advancements, I feel like that should free me up to do the kind of things I enjoy most. Yet, it seems that learning about new technologies consumes more and more of my time. This includes how to use them and also how to protect myself on them. The rest of my time is spent using the new technologies, or sometimes just getting frustrated. I think the frustration comes from my expectations that everything should be a seamless experience. Often, it’s not. It’s the same old clunky processes, except now I have to bumble through them in paper or poorly designed electronic mediums.

The other day I was chatting with one of my coop students about cover letters. A professor wanted to use his cover letter as an example for other students. I agreed that he had written a great cover letter. In fact, I used it as a tie breaker between him and the other shortlisted candidate. More importantly, I could tell that he hadn’t used AI to generate his cover letter. Or if he did, he spent time customizing and editing whatever AI prepared.

What really caused me to think was when the student mentioned some of his colleagues had applied to hundreds of positions. My student, however, had only applied to a few dozen. Even with the benefit of technology to author cover letters, write, and customize resumes for specific jobs, applying for hundreds still takes a lot of time. On the hiring side, it also takes lots of my time to filter through the applicants, even if I use AI to help.

Does using AI to apply for that many positions increase your hiring rate by the same amount? Or is the time “saved” spent sifting through quantity over quality to ultimately achieve the same outcome?

Productivity, Spring Cleaning, True Confessions

Finding a Home

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I often think my biggest barrier to tackling clutter is finding a home to put something. A friend of mine visited the other week. She had recently moved to a new place and ended up downsizing in the process. One of her top priorities was to find a place for everything. Even if this place was cumbersome and difficult to access, such as the cupboards above the refrigerator, she didn’t care. As long as the item was stored somewhere, a better “home” could be made later.

I’m in the process of getting ready for four window replacements. To prepare, we need to clear away everything near the windows. This is both to provide space for the workers and to protect things from getting dusty. This is particularly important for the basement window, which requires some extensive repairs. It’s been a lot of work finding, or making, temporary “homes” for things that normally live on the window sills, such as the house plants. It’s been doubly frustrating to create homes for things in the “to-do,” donate, or gift piles.

I once read an article about a clean up method comprising five buckets: trash, dishes, laundry, things with a place, and things without a place. In theory, this seems like a solid system, except for me the majority of clean up is things with a “cumbersome and difficult to access” place. This is likely why they weren’t in it. Sometimes I designated the place hurriedly and organically, resulting in a jumbled interior. The problem with these homes is that often space is available. However, everything is difficult to access and find because the organization is poor. The big challenge is finding time and energy to reorganize everything.

Often, I think this problem is both easier to solve and worse in the digital world. On a computer, or device, it’s incredibly easy to create a “home.” I can always create a folder, or a tag, or save it within some app. Many apps automatically create some kind of organization system for us. Yet, this can often result in an abundance of “homes,” many containing a single item. Poorly named folders and labels make it difficult to find anything later. Of course, purging doesn’t happen as routinely because it’s easy to get more space.

The first step is finding a home, even if it ends up being the garbage can.

Human Archives

Garden Fruits

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The weather has definitely been strange and erratic. Somehow, the garden still knows how to trudge along. We’ve been able to start harvesting a few things. This year we planted:

  • tomatoes, peas, beans, jalapenos, red peppers, carrots, pumpkins, sunflowers, kale, cilantro, and basil
  • Chives, tarragon, and raspberries regrew on their own.

From this impressive looking list of options, we already had a few casualties. The squirrels dug up all the sunflower seeds before they even had a chance to sprout. Even after growing the pumpkin seeds inside to healthy looking 6″ sprouts, the squirrels ate all those too. It was too hot for the peas. The plants remained small and scraggly, but we managed to get a few pods. Out of the 10 bean seeds we planted, only 1 grew and it’s tiny. I didn’t care for the raspberry plants last year so we only got about 25 berries.

The rest, however, are doing pretty well. I’m shocked as I’ve had many failures in past years, some nature related and others due to “black-thumb” gardening mishaps. For example, one year none of the tomatoes turned red and I had a massive aphid infestation (see Ferocity). Another year, a friend gifted us a cherry tomato plant. I waited patiently for the small orange tomatoes to turn red. Towards the end of the summer I mentioned this to my friend who informed me they were orange cherry tomatoes.

This year, however, I’ve been enjoying the magic of home gardening. I pick fresh kale for salads. Sprigs of fresh herbs get chopped up with my special herb-cutting scissors (yes! it’s a thing and one of my favorite kitchen gadgets). Perhaps my most favorite is picking fresh tomatoes.

As a child, I grew up spoiled on my grandfather’s greenhouse-grown tomatoes. I would wait all year to eat his tomatoes. Juicy and lush, glistening ruby orbs shining against the greenery of their stalks in the sweltering heat of the greenhouse. I used to pick them and eat them like apples, making a convincing case to put the tomato back in the “fruit” category. When people tell me they don’t like tomatoes, I can’t help but think it’s because they haven’t really tasted a super fresh, locally grown one. This year, I have the good fortune to gorge myself on them for a brief time.

Digital Dilemma, Digital Photos

Digital Age Olympic Viewing Part II

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Aside from all the ways I can now watch the Olympics, there are other changes in viewing. Namely, the amazing camera angles, ability for instant replay, and the play-by-play frame shots. This last one was new to me and can provide detailed views of the athletes in motion, soaring through the air.

During the womens’ 200 IM finals in swimming, Alex Walsh got disqualified due to a technicality on one of her turns between laps. Apparently she turned too much on her stomach and was disqualified after placing third in the race. What felt strange to me was the combination of human and machine power to make this determination.

At both ends of the pool, a human stands to watch the athletes and sometimes to provide a signal towards the end of the longer races. For example, during the 800m race, the person watching the lane rings a bell to signify the last two laps. The person will also note things about touching and pushing off from the wall. Or if the right kick was used at the right time.

To complement the human viewing, or perhaps to enhance it, many cameras are watching from different angles. This includes at both ends of the lane, underwater, and above the pool. All of which work together to initiate, confirm, or contest noted infractions.

When detecting Walsh’s infraction, I don’t know if the initiation of it came from a machine or a human. Certainly to my untrained eye I didn’t notice anything during the race. Even in slow motion playbacks I couldn’t really tell that she had rolled too much on her stomach. Even when the playback circled the moment to highlight the turn, I couldn’t see the difference. Apparently transitioning from backstroke to breaststroke is tricky. It’s a turn requiring technique and precision.

Something about this whole disqualification felt oddly dissatisfying to me. I’m not advocating that athletes who don’t adhere to the rules should still win medals. However, with all the superb camera angles and scrutiny, I felt like maybe it makes it too easy to dissect every imperfection in excruciating detail. It’s neat to see how the athletes accomplish all the amazing feats, but it also detracts a bit from my enjoyment to see so many small, nitpicky things pointed out with the high tech cameras. It’s kind of like exposing a magician’s tricks.